The Scarlet Letter ch 8-12

Chapter eight of the novel seemed almost pointless to me. This chapter introduced Governor Bellingham along with Mr. Wilson, Reverend Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth- whom we already know is her long lost husband. Readers also get to see a bit of trouble stirred up by none other than Pearl herself. The matter wasn't serious and could have easily been avoided if Pearl wasn't so rebellious. Obviously Pearl knew the answer to the question yet she chose to be difficult and told Mr. Wilson she came from a rose bush. This got her mom in even more trouble than she already was, which was annoying. I love Pearl, but she causes unnecessary stress sometimes. There was a part I didn't get, which was when Bellingham's sister asked Hester to come to the forest. Who was this "Black Man" that she was talking about? My first thoughts were the devil, but I'm not really sure.

Chapter nine basically talked about Chillingworth the whole time, which I liked because his character literally popped out of the woodworks. He mysteriously came out of no where, stating that he was Hester's long lost, and not dead, husband after all. It would be nice to have SOME background information on him. I found it extremely weird how Chillingworth wanted to stay with Reverend Dimmesdale. The title of this chapter,"The Leech," seemed very fitting after hearing this. 

I found chapter ten to be more interesting than the other chapters. It made me hate Chillingworth a little less... eh. I kind of felt bad for him. The reason why he's so bitter is because all he wants is to find out the truth. The only question I had during this chapter was, "WHAT IS DIMMESDALE'S SECRET?!" Seriously it's been bugging me for the past couple chapters and I thought it would be revealed by now. Also, why is Chillingworth so concerned with it? I guess I'm not the only one who dislikes him too, because even the narrator compared him to Satan. Haha.

Chapter 11 was the most unexpected yet expected plot twist. If that even makes sense. Everyone explains the Scarlet Letter as the story where some lady sleeps with a minister and gets punished for it but I completely forgot that until now. Seriously.... REVEREND DIMMESDALE?! Really?!? No wonder he was acting shady these last few chapters. We also know why he puts his hand over his chest when he's in uncomfortable situations. I seriously had no words for this chapter. The fact that Chillingworth discovered his secret was the cherry on top of everything. Poor, old Dimmesdale. Is it bad that I still like Dimmesdale more than Chillingworth at this point?...

Chapter 12 gave me a sense of defeat. Dimmesdale is just chilling on a scaffold for the whole chapter, recollecting his sins, and figuring out how he's going to confess them to everybody. We can see him at his lowest point. The whole glowing A thing was a bit weird to me though. It reminded me of Julius Caesar when Brutus see's Caesar's head in the middle of the night. Weird. It warmed my heart when Hester and Pearl came together on the scaffold. It made me happy to see that Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl weren't alone in their situation and that they could conquer the problem together. Although this was touching, I wonder if Pearl knows that he's her father. I feel like she should know, but it's better to tell her when she's older. She's too young to know wrong from right at this age, clearly.